Niki De Saint Phalle Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Niki de Saint Phalle, pseudonym of Catherine Marie-Agnès de Saint Phalle (Neuilly-sur-Seine, 29 October 1930 – San Diego, 21 May 2002), was a French painter, sculptor, director and model maker. Niki de Saint Phalle was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, in 1930, the second of five children of Jeanne Jacqueline Harper (American actress) and André Marie Fal de Saint Phalle (French banker). Read the full biography

Niki De Saint Phalle Biography

Niki de Saint Phalle, pseudonym of Catherine Marie-Agnès de Saint Phalle (Neuilly-sur-Seine, 29 October 1930 – San Diego, 21 May 2002), was a French painter, sculptor, director and model maker. Niki de Saint Phalle was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, in 1930, the second of five children of Jeanne Jacqueline Harper (American actress) and André Marie Fal de Saint Phalle (French banker). The family financial business suffered the crisis of 1929 and led the entire family to move to New York in 1937. Niki studied at Catholic and public schools: her rebellious character led her to often change schools. Life in the United States alternates, for Niki, with summer holidays with her grandparents at Château Filerval in France. Dual nationality will help make her a citizen of the world, polyglot and linked to international friendships. From 1948 Niki's artistic inclinations were clearly manifested. The first stage of his career is expressed in literature. She later studied theater and dreamed of becoming an actress. In this period she posed as a photomodel for Vogue and Life magazines, then turned, encouraged by Hugh Weiss, to the world of cinema. In 1950 she married the writer Harry Mathews with whom she had two children, Laura (1951) and Philip (1954). Mathews studies music and Niki begins to paint. For some time the two live in Massachusetts. In 1952 they moved to Paris, where Niki devoted himself to theater and Mathews to music. Following a serious nervous crisis, Niki was admitted to hospital in Nice and discovered her therapy in painting and from there she decided to dedicate herself completely to it.